One of the most common touchpoints between a field service company and its customers is the service technician. Able to successfully build a rapport with customers and gather valuable information, the service technician is a vital tool (no pun intended) in getting the most out each and every service call.
That’s why its imperative that you take advantage of these interactions by training your technicians to upsell and cross-sell on a job.
Not only will it help secure even more trust and communication with your customers, you’ll also see your profit margins go from zero to sixty in no time.
Below we take you through how to use a service tech’s time onsite to get the most out of every customer visit.
Upselling vs. cross-selling
Upselling is a sales technique whereby service technicians encourage customers to take advantage of add-ons or more expensive services.
With upselling you can:
- Build more in-depth relationships with customers
- Increase a customer’s lifetime value
- Add value by creating easy ways for customers to return when they need services again
Cross-selling is a sales technique where service technicians encourage customers to take advantage of complementary services. That means they’re looking for products or services that satisfy the needs that the original product or service isn’t fulfilling for the customer. For example, a service technician could sell a customer a preventative maintenance agreement alongside a product or service.
The benefits of cross-selling include:
- Builds customer loyalty
- Increases overall profit by offering products or services at a discount to prevent missing sales
- Develops additional leads, especially when existing customers recommend the company
Tips for cross- or upselling
1. Focus on the customer’s needs
Customers already know what they need when approaching a business. Avoid trying to sell them things that aren’t related to their current need or doesn’t solve their problem. Selling unrelated products or services sounds too much like a sales pitch. You want the customer to feel like the technician wants to help meet their needs, not increase the company’s bottomline.
2. Look at how cross- or upselling solves the original problem
Upselling should come naturally when interacting with a customer. For example, if a customer’s furnace is broken, the service tech should look for ways to solve the problem at hand and then add value by talking about other products or services that could prevent the problem from happening again.
3. Know your customers
Successful upselling involves comprehensive customer research. This tip is especially critical while overcoming the hurdles COVID-19. Customers want to ensure the products and services they’re receiving are safe. Companies don’t want to lose sales from customers that are too nervous about taking advantage of their offers.
How to set your technicians up for success
Training is critical for service technicians because they’re selling themselves as experts in the field. Setting technicians up for success includes developing their sales skills and their knowledge of your company as a whole. Every time you send a tech out into the field, they should be experts on the many products and services you offer. And have the skills to know when and how to sell those products to your customers while on the job.
Ultimately, your company’s goal is to create an environment that encourages technicians to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to make the most of their service visits. Look into incentive- or commission-based programs that encourage technicians to grow these much-needed skills.
Use a field service management system
Identifying value-add selling opportunities involves training technicians on how to leverage customer data. From remembering smaller details recorded from a pervious call to making the overall job process easy and headache-free, customer data is essential in setting the stage for making an upsell.
A field service management system helps automate the customer experience while increasing their overall satisfaction. Automation helps technicians streamline their processes while simultaneously driving down the amount of time they spend performing specific tasks. With a job management system, techs have more time to spend with the customer while on the job, allowing them to identify top selling opportunities.
Start creating value-based interactions today
Cross-selling and upselling are excellent techniques for increasing profit and adding value to customer experiences.
Don’t miss out on the massive benefits these small changes can have on your technicians’ every day customer interactions. Start training your techs today on how to get the most out of their visits!
